Running in the Opposite Direction

Last Wednesday, I introduced you to a dear on-line friend, Tamra Bolton, who I hope to meet in person someday. She is a wise woman with many “pearls of wisdom,” which she shares freely. Below is one such “pearl” printed and written about with her permission.

“Why is it, I wonder, that when we are the closest to becoming what we were meant to be, we run faster, in the opposite direction? If we don’t make the choice to turn around and embrace opportunity instead of resist it, we will spend the rest of our lives being miserable, and wandering in the land of ‘might have been.'” Tamra Bolton 2015

I don’t know about you, but those statements resonated with me. Why do we run in the opposite direction just as we’re about to become what we were meant to be – when we’re about to become the person and do the things that God has called us to do? Are we afraid of failure or rejection? Do we think we’re not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough? If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” then we need to step back and look at this situation as God sees it.

First, God will not call us to do something and then leave us to our own devices to get it done. If He calls us to it, He will equip us to do it.

Second, are we afraid of failure or rejection? We need to remember the old saying, (and I hope this is correct) “Some of the people will like us some of the time, but not all of the people will like us all of the time.” The same goes for our ideas, our plans. Some people will like them and some won’t. But if we are doing what God has called us to do, we are still in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing.

“Do we think we’re not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough?” God obviously thinks we’re good enough to answer our calling. In fact, I believe He thinks we are the best person for the job or He would have given the job to someone else.

That “best person for the job” catgegory also includes “smart enough.” And during our journey to become all God has called us to be, if there’s something we don’t know, God will reveal it or show us where to go to find the information we need.

“Not pretty enough?” “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7 NIV) It is man/woman who says we’re not pretty enough – not God. In fact, the Bible says “the King is enthralled with our beauty.” (Psalm 45:11)

There is one other excuse that many Christians use: “I’m not sure it’s God’s will.” Come back Friday to find out how to know whether or not “it’s” God’s will.